Screw-propeller



(No Model.) 3 sheets-sneu 1.

W. J, PERKINS.. SURE-W PROPELLER.

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. SCREW PROPBLLER. No. 606,297. Patented June 28,1898.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. J. PERKINS. SCREW ROPELLER.

No. 606,297. 4PateniaedJune 28, 1898.

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"WILLIS J. PERKINS, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

sPncIFIcATroNforrnng part of Letters Patent No. 606,297, dated June 2s,ieee.

Application filed November 27, 1895. p Serial No. 5'70 ,311` ;`(Nomodeld i i To @ZZ whom,zit/"mayconcern,.-l I Be it known that I, WILLIsJe. PERKINS, a citizen of the United States,'residing at the cityofGrand Rapids, in the county ofl Kent and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Propeller- Wheels, ofwhich the following is aspecification. Y

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inpropeller-wheelsin which the blades may be shifted at pleasure l so asto propel the boat to which the same are attached either forward orbackward and which are also adapted to beset in position so as toneither move thefboat forward nor backward; and the objects of theinvention.

are, first, to produce a reversible or feathering blade propeller-wheelfor powerfoperated boats, so as to propel the boat in either directionwithout reversing the actuating power; second, to minimize theresistance to the rotation of the propeller-wheelv in the Water; third,to provide stops to regulate the pitch or lead of the blade as it isshifted upon its axis, said stops being so located as to offer nofrictional resistance to `any, of therotating parts of the blade orconnecting mechanism; fourth, to provide a construction of such kindthat one or more of the blades can be readily removed in case of mishapland others substituted; fifth, to provide almechanism for shifting theblades of the propeller, the same being entirely in closed, so as toleave a smooth surface on the outside, thereby preventing the same fromlwinding up grass, weeds, or other foreign substancesupon the hub sixth,to so construct the propeller as to-,obtain the greatest amount ofrigidity and strength with the least amount of material,theaccomplishment of which objects vare adaptedto make this form ofpropeller-vtfheel` desirable to boats operated lby steam-engines,gas orgasolene engines, electricity, compressed air, or analogous means. It isevidenty that ,by shifting the blades in the reversegdirection, ashereinafter described, the motion of the boat is iirst arrested and thenreversed. Without this device or some analogous mechanism it would b enecessary tostop the engine and reverse it. This operation in allignition gasolene-engines ordinarily requires the stopping andrestarting of the engine, and if engines can be made to reverseautomaticallyit would require much greater power than to shift theblades, as I Iereinafter` described, and would also consume muchgmore`time. These objects I accomplish by means of the mechanism illustratedinthe accompanying draw- Figure 1 ,is a transverse section of mypropeller-hub online 'y yof Fig.` 2, the blades and reversing-racksbeing shown.v in eleva-V tion. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line e e ofFig. l; andFigis an elevation of;1nyin vention removed from the boatjfor the purpose of more fully illustrating the same, the propeller-shaftand encircling tube orjsleeves being broken apart and shortened; l Fig.4 is a longitudinal section 'of the outsidelshell or case, taken4approximately on line;Q Q of Fig. 7. Fig. v5 is a longitudinal sectionof the collars and Vstuffing-boninside of the boat, being a continuationalso of the shaft Q and tube M. Fig. G is anjend view of the collar L,

showing an end of the racks J jand K and a sectional .view of shaft Q.Fig. 7 is an end view of Fig. 4 with the cap removedwiththe blade Apartly sectioned, showing the journals of the blades, theirconnection,and their relative position Withjreference to the racks.

In the severalfigures, above named A and B represent the propellerblades. These blades have their inner, ends formed into the journals Cand D integral withjtheblades and adapted to turn in suitable jo'urnal-boXes integral with the two-part vhubE and F. The extreme innerendl ofthe blade B is supported in the journalbox G, while the inner end2 of the bladeAf-that is, the inner ends -or journals 2 and l ofthe twoblades-are formed male and female, respectively. By this constructionthe twoblades not only turn upon the same center, but their journals areunited together, said journals fitting into each other, thereby giving agreat amount of strength and stability to the attachment of the bladest-o the hub fandnat the same time employing but a `small quantity ofmetal, whereby I obtain Aa high degree of strength and rigidity withonly a minimum weight.

The journal-box G is circular in form. It is adapted to it into a recessin thetwo-part hub, the two-part hub being shown by E and F and the samebeing so constructed that by IOO drawing the two parts together thiscircular journal-box G will be compressed and held from rotating. Thismay be done by screws or bolts in the ordinary manner. Each bladejournalis provided with a gear, said gears being shown by II and I, the gearsbeing made either integral with or rigidly secured to the blades,respectively. Engaging with the teeth on the gear are two racks K and J,they being placed on opposite sides of t-heir axis. The racks J and Kare fastened into a collar L, which collar L has av longitudinalmovement upon the propeller-shaft Q. A sleeve or tube M is attached toor may be made integral with the collar L, said sleeve being preferablylong` enough to project into the boat to a suitable point. The collar Nhas a peripheral groove IV in its circumference and is rigidly securedto the sleeve M or made integral therewith, and suitable shiftingmechanism of any well-known form or design is suitably located to engagewith said peripheral groove, so as to give longitudinal movement to thetube or sleeve M and thereby to the shifting mechanism.

O and O represent two separate stuffingboxes, the box O being outsidethe boat and the box O inside. The stufIing-box O is formed by a cavityin the end of the sleeve S, which is entered by the threaded hub of thestern-post box R.

The stuffing-box O is formed by the collar N and a sleeve O2, which isscrewed into the collar N, the latter forming the other part of saidstuffing-box. This box is arranged inside the boat. P is an adjustablecollar located upon the shaft Q. This collar forms a stop which limitsthe movement of the pinions in one direction, and by means of itsadjustment the revolving motion of the propeller-blades may beregulated. The movement of the pinions in the opposite direction islimited by the collar L abutting against the sleeve S, as alreadydescribed.

R is the stern -post box, its upper end in the illustration being formedinto one-half of the stuffing-box S and provided with a screwthread uponit, which screw-thread engages with the screw-thread in the collar S,which collar or sleeve S forms the balance of the stuffing-box, suitablepacking material being used between the two parts, as shown by S in Fig.2. The collar or sleeve Sis preferably extended over the hub F, so as tocompletely envelop and protect the shaft and the racks J and K from anydrift or debris that might bein the Water and also preventingunnecessary churning of the water.

By making the hub in two parts, as E and F, it divides the j ournal-box,which forms the support for the journals C and D, into two portions. Bythis construction the removal of suitable holding-bolts, which attachthe parts of the hub E and F together, the part E may be removedentirely from the part F of the hub, leaving perfect freedom for theremoval or insertion of the propeller-blades A and B, thebolt-holes T T,&c., being screwthreaded, so that the bolts passing through the hub Emay engage therewith. By this construction any one or more of the bladesor paddles may be readily removed in case of injury and new onessubstituted.

It will be noticed that the racks J and K are placed on opposite sidesofthe axis of the blades A and B. This is desirable, as the requiredalteration in the angle of the blade must be in opposite directions.

The operation of myinvention is as follows: The handle for shifting orreversing the blades is carried to any portion of the boat where thesame would be most convenient, for the pilot or person in charge. Byshifting the operating-handle so provided the sleeve M is movedlongitudinally on the shaft Q. '-Tl1e racks Kl and J engaging with thepinions I-I and I upon the propeller-blades A and B turn said blades inopposite directions, thereby reversing the pitch or lead of the bladeand reversing the movement of the boat. The collar L, which is arrangedin the sleeve S, abuts against and is arrested by the hub F, therebygaging the angle to which the blades may be shifted in one direction. Onthe reverse shift the sleeve M is limited in its movements by the collarN on the stuffing-box O, which strikes against the adjustable collar Pon the propeller-shaft Q, thereby arresting the lon gitudinal movementin that direction. As the hub F and collar L turn together, there is noresistance caused by this adjustment to the rotation of thepropeller-shaft Q, and as the collars N and P also turn with the shaftthere can therefore be no frictional resistance offered by them. It willbe noted that the axis of the propeller-blades A and B are on a directstraight line. The blades are made as much one side of the center lineas the other, and therefore are balanced, so to speak, upon theirjournals. Consequently the shifting is made without any material effortor exercise of power and the strain on the reversing-gears isproportionately decreased.

In the drawings I have shown but two blades, that being the numberordinarily used in small boats; but more blades may be similarly mountedand connected, if desired.

Vhile I have described my preferred form, I do not wish to limit myselfto the exact form shown in the drawings and described in thespecification, but wish to reserve all rights pertaining to theinvention I have made.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to have invented, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a propeller-shaft stopping short of the journal-bearings for the blades and provided at its ends with arigidlyattached journal-box, or hub, of opposite propeller-blades havingmale and female piv-I otal bearings upon their journal ends, and gearingthereon, racks having longitudinal movement and engaging said gearing, anon- IOO IIO

rotating sleeve capable of longitudinalmovement on and partiallycovering said hub, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a propeller-shaft and hub thereon formingpivotal supports for propeller-blades, of a sleeveencircling said shaftand partially revolving said blades through suitable mechanism, and anadjustable collar or stop on said shaft to determine amount of saidblades rotation.

3. The combination with a propeller-shaft and a hub rigid thereon, oftwo propellerblades journaled in said hub near its periphery on oppositesides of a central and third journal-bearing positively connecting saidpropeller-blades, means for turning the blades in either direction, andan adjustable collar on said shaft to limit their turning movement,substantially as described.

4. Thecombination with a propeller-shaft, and a plurality of shiftingpropeller-blades suitably journaled, of a hub rigid on saidpropeller-shaft, and a removable non-rotating section or collar at thecenter of the propeller-blade journal-box, said collar partly inclosingand capable of longitudinalv movement on said hub, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination with a propeller-shaft, of two propeller-blades, eachprovided with a journal-bearing, two pinions placed within thejournal-boxes within a hub on said shaft, two racks adapted to engagewith the respective pinions on opposite sides of the axis of the hub, aninward'extension of one of the journals of one of the propeller-bladeshaving a socket or opening and an inward extension of the journal on theother of said propellerblades adapted to engage with said socket oropening', thereby forming auxiliary journals of the propeller-bladesWithin the hub, substantially as described.

6. The combination with the blades of a propeller-Wheel, of ahubcomposed of two parts E and F separably secured together, journals onsaid propeller-blades. rigidly `attached thereto, adapted to turn saidblades, racks adapted to engage with the pinions on the Ajournals ofsaid propeller-blades, a movable sleeve or collar to which the saidracks are secured, a sleeve partly inclosing and capable oflongitudinalmovementl upon the journalbox, or hub, and alsoinclosing thesaid racks and a portion of the propeller-shaft, suitablestuffing-.boxes preventing the water from passing through into the boat,a sleeve conneoted with the said collar and extending int-o the boat,and suitable means for giving the longitudinal movement to the saidsleeve and thereby to the racks for the purpose of setting thepropeller-blades in any required position, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal in the presenceof two Witnesses.

` WILLIS J. PERKINS. 1L. sj.

